First Sale of ‘Power-to-Gas’ Plant in Germany

13th March 2013

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce that it has won a competitive tender process, based on both price and performance, for a Thüga Group project, to supply a 360kW Power-to-Gas energy storage plant. This is ITM Power’s first major commercial sale in Germany of a large hydrogen production unit based on its unique design of a self-pressurising rapid response PEM Electrolyser. The unit produces 125kg/day of hydrogen gas and incorporates AEG power electronics. It will be situated at a Mainova AG site in the Schielestraße, Frankfurt in the state of Hessen.

The operational data will be shared by the whole Thüga group – the largest network of energy companies in Germany with around 100 municipal utility members.

Power to gas energy storage is rapidly growing in significance in Germany and this deployment with Thüga-Group is the largest ever PEM Electrolyser deployment in a Power-to-Gas application to date. PEM electrolysers are able to respond rapidly to fluctuating renewable inputs and so are able to store renewable energy as hydrogen for injection into the gas grid. The ITM Power technology is unique since it can respond in one second and is self-pressurising up to 80bar, permitting direct injection into the German gas grid.

Michael Riechel, CTO, Thüga Aktiengesellschaft, commented: “In the decade between 2020 and 2030 we will need to store excess renewable energy in significant volumes. We have calculated that the municipal natural gas network is capable of storing all future generated excess renewable energy. In order to transform green electricity into hydrogen or methane we need an economic best practice. It is important for the advancement of Power-to-Gas technology to make the transition from lab to practical demonstration. We believe that the natural gas distribution system could be the battery of the future, and we are now building the charger.”

Dr.-Ing. Peter Birkner, Director, Mainova AG, commented: “The energy sector in Germany is undergoing a fundamental change, which is being accelerated as Germany moves away from nuclear power generation. We are now exploring all aspects of harnessing intermittent renewable energy and it is essential that we can harness all of the renewable energy that we generate. ITM Power’s technology will be a key part of the systems that we need to achieve our goals.”

Phil Doran, MD, ITM Power GmbH, commented: “This is our first significant sale into the German utility market and is recognition of ITM Power’s expertise in the energy storage and clean fuel sector. Germany is the leading market for energy storage technology, particularly after the Government’s decision to pull out of nuclear generation.”

Dr Graham Cooley, CEO, ITM Power plc, commented: “Harvesting the maximum energy generated by intermittent and varying renewable energy sources is still seen as the holy grail in the power generation and distribution industry. We have the technology to achieve this today. The Company is looking forward to deploying its technology further in the forward thinking German market.”

About the Thüga Group

450 cities and municipalities have integrated their 100 communal energy and water supply companies with the Thüga Group, representing the living space of around 8 million people. The aim is to create added value for the individuals’ living space and sustainably secure communal values through cooperation.

A total of 18,200 people work in the Thüga Group. They supply more than 3.6 million customers with electricity, 2.1 million customers with natural gas and 1 million customers with drinking water. Sales of the Thüga network in 2011 amounted to €21.3 billion. The Thüga group is the largest municipal network of local and regional energy suppliers in Germany.

Roles within the Thüga Group are clearly assigned: the 100 partners ensure active market coverage with their local and regional brands. Thüga – equity partner of the cities and municipalities, and in this function minority shareholder in the companies, – is responsible for the entrepreneurial development as the core of the group: winning new partners, protection and development of the value of the individual companies, coordination and moderation of projects as well as control of cooperation in the Group.

Shareholders of Thüga are 58 of the 100 companies in the Thüga Group.

About ITM Power

ITM Power plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 and raised its initial funding of £10m gross in its IPO. Further funding rounds of £28.5m in 2006 and £5.4m in 2012 have been completed. The Company has now made the transition from a research and development company to a product manufacturer and technology provider. The Company has both a strong base of intellectual property and engineering expertise for providing complete hydrogen solutions. The Company has been successful in developing strategic industry partnerships in the following projects: